WISD seeks $53m bond to finance reconstruction at High Point School
A county-wide bond issue will be on the August 6 ballot for the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD) to levy a bond that would finance a nearly-complete reconstruction of the 45 year old school that serves children and young adults with disabilities, from every district in the county.
An estimated 0.37 mill increase in the current WISD levy over the next 10 years would create a $53.295 million bond issue to reconstruct a new High Point School for students with the most significant needs receiving special education services.
High Point School serves students from all nine public school districts in Washtenaw County, and specializes in educating students ages 3-26 with significant medical, emotional, physical, and cognitive needs. It also provides services such as Occupational Therapy, Speech Pathology, Physical Therapy, School Psychologist, Social Work, Music Therapy, Adaptive Aquatics, staff consultations with medical specialists, and access to other various consultants.
“Construction of High Point School started nearly 50 years ago in 1972, and it first opened its doors to students in May 1975,” according to a FAQ developed by the ISD to educate the public about its need. “High Point is approaching the time when significant investments will be required for the facility to meet the needs of our 21st century students; therefore, High Point needs either significant renovations or a complete replacement in order to best serve current and future High Point students.”
Although High Point School was originally developed to serve students with disabilities, in the 1970s, that was a very a different population of students with disabilities than it currently serves.
“Originally, High Point served students with disabilities who had previously been in institutions,” according to the FAQ. “These students were physically, emotionally, and cognitively capable enough to learn how to live and work independently, and they attended High Point School specifically for career training programs. Today, High Point serves a much wider variety of students with severe and multiple disabilities, many of whom have large wheelchairs and medical equipment that must travel with them down narrow hallways.”
In addition, the aging facility and the type of mechanical and electrical infrastructure upgrades required for changing technology and adaptive equipment for High Point students, along with lack of storage, makes it reasonable to consider reconstruction rather than simply renovations, which would simply not accommodate some of the changes that are needed in the building.
“The current plan is to tear down a portion of the current facility, while maintaining, yet renovating, the existing gymnasium and pool space,” according to the FAQ. “We envision a building that still promotes an inclusive learning environment where students with disabilities continue learning near their general education peers. The current High Point facility fails to accommodate the needs of our current students, so the renovations would allow us to:
- Create classrooms that meet student needs, including in-classroom wheelchair-accessible bathrooms, adequate space for wheelchairs to move, and technology to support enhanced learning opportunities.
- Build ample storage space for medical and accessibility equipment needs.
- Develop wide hallways that accommodate both wheelchair travel and foot traffic.
- Install new mechanical and HVAC systems that ensure medically-fragile students consistently have reliable heating and cooling systems.”
The financial impact to homeowners on their annual tax bills would be as follows:
| Market Value | Taxable Value | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost |
| $100,000 | $50,000 | $1.54 | $18.50 |
| $150,000 | $75,000 | $2.31 | $27.75 |
| $200,000 | $100,000 | $3.08 | $37.00 |
| $300,000 | $150,000 | $4.63 | $55.50 |
Because it is a county-wide issue, the relatively modest .37 mill levy would allow the district to raise the $53 million needed to complete the renovation by spreading it over a wider population for the proposed 10-year period.
Registered voters who reside in the school districts of Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Lincoln, Manchester, Milan, Saline, Whitmore Lake, and Ypsilanti, will vote at the regular precinct location where you vote in general elections. Polls will be open from 7 am-8 pm on Tuesday, August 6, 2019. If you are unable to vote in person, absentee ballot applications are available through your township, city, or county clerk offices.
Please consider signing up for the WISD’s e-newsletter, which will provide important updates and information about the bond proposal. You can sign up for the e-newsletter here. The entire FAQ document is available at https://washtenawisd.org/community/c-menu/2019-high-point-bond.
The WISD is happy to answer any other questions you may have. Click here to submit questions, comments, or concerns using the “High Point Bond” topic in their Let’s Talk portal.
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